Brazil’s presidential elections are scheduled to take place on October 2, 2022. The confrontation between the extreme-right incumbent president Bolsonaro and the center-left former president Lula Da Silva provides a rare setting. The election places Brazil at a crossroads and will set the stage for either a comprehensive commitment to democracy under Lula or a continuation along the path to authoritarianism under Bolsonaro. Recent polls suggest that the most likely scenario is a win for Lula. Nevertheless, Brazil’s democratic institutions are continuously under attack. Currently, the possibility of the elections being preemptively cancelled or the final results being contested cannot be fully dismissed.
Autor: Ariadne Natal
Ariadne Natal is a senior researcher at PRIF’s research department “Intrastate Conflict”. Her research focuses on Brazil, police legitimacy and use of force as well as vigilantism. // Ariadne Natal ist wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin im Programmbereich “Innerstaatliche Konflikte” an der HSFK. Sie forscht zu Brasilien, polizeiliche Legitimität und Gewaltanwendung sowie Selbstjustiz.
Bolsonaro gunning at Brazilian democracy
In Brazil, September 7th is Independence Day, traditionally celebrated with civil and military parades in the capital Brazilia and many other cities. What was intended to foster national pride and unity threatens to damage that very unity this year, as President Bolsonaro wants to turn the events into a show of strength signalling his will to win in the 2022 elections by a coup d’état if necessary.
